Created by
Gary B. Rollman,
Emeritus Professor of Psychology,
University of Western Ontario
(In addition to links below, see weekly archives in the right column)

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Prevention and management of pain in the neonate: An update (American
Academy of Pediatrics)

The prevention of pain in neonates should be the goal of allcaregivers, because repeated painful exposures have the potentialfor deleterious consequences. Neonates at greatest risk of neurodevelopmentalimpairment as a result of preterm birth (ie, the smallest andsickest) are also those most likely to be exposed to the greatestnumber of painful stimuli in the NICU. Although there are majorgaps in our knowledge regarding the most effective way to preventand relieve pain in neonates, proven and safe therapies arecurrently underused for routine minor yet painful procedures.Every health care facility caring for neonates should implementan effective pain-prevention program, which includes strategiesfor routinely assessing pain, minimizing the number of painfulprocedures performed, effectively using pharmacologic and nonpharmacologictherapies for the prevention of pain associated with routineminor procedures, and eliminating pain associated with surgeryand other major procedures.